Why spend big bucks for job that pays nothing?

Orange mayor candidate Jon Dumitru, left, and city council candidate Ray Grangoff work the phones at the Orange Republican Women's Headquarters on Tustin Avenue Thursday. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ORANGE – Hundreds of thousands of special-interest dollars have flooded the mayor's race in the proudly small-town City of Orange, fueling a heated fight for a position that pays absolutely nothing and raising a question: Why?

The same question could be asked in cities across Orange County during these last frenzied days of the campaign season. Those glossy political mailers jammed into your mailbox come from the same kinds of groups that are helping to shape this one race in this one city.

Orange (city motto: "A slice of old town charm") is only the sixth-biggest city in Orange County, easily overshadowed by the neighboring heavyweights of Anaheim and Santa Ana. Its next mayor will officially make nothing; tiny Villa Park is the only other Orange County city that currently provides zero compensation for its mayor.

And yet more than a quarter of a million dollars has poured into the Orange mayor's race this year in campaign contributions and outside political expenditures, financial reports show.

"It just makes me sick to my stomach," said Shirley Grindle, a campaign watchdog and resident of Orange who has hammered for years at the money and influence in local politics. "I'm absolutely amazed at the money being spent."

The race in Orange pits two veteran council members against each other.

Jon Dumitru, a fire dispatcher, has won the support of the Republican Party as a tight-government conservative and a champion of property rights. Teresa "Tita" Smith, the director of Catholic Charities of Orange County, has also cast herself as a fiscal conservative but has won the support of the police and fire unions with her focus on public safety.

Mailers and lawn signs

Each had raised close to $60,000 by the time they filed their most recent campaign financial reports in late October. But outside groups have also pumped tens of thousands of extra dollars into the race – mostly in the form of political mailers and lawn signs.

Orange, like many cities, has a strict limit on how much donors can give to a political campaign – in its case, $1,000. But the outside groups are able to get around those limits because they don't give their money directly to the candidate. They spend it how they want; by law, the candidate can't even know what they're up to.

The unions that back Smith, for example, have put out more than $55,000 in mailers featuring her and other council candidates they support. The firefighters' union also spent nearly $13,000 on vote-for-Smith mailers and lawn signs, and a group called the California Taxpayer Advocate put out an attack mailer ripping Dumitru that cost nearly $19,500.

The firefighters, in particular, have reason to pay attention to the race. The city council has talked about cutting costs by eliminating the city's firehouse staffing rules and reducing overtime – a move the union has fought as a threat to public safety.

Capt. Greg Lewin, the president of the Orange City Firefighters Association, said they were looking for a candidate who would "fight to keep Orange staffed as flush as it can be, considering the difficult economic times." Smith said she was happy to have the firefighters' support but added the council has only discussed this in closed session and has not publically announced its stance on firehouse staffing.

Spending is worth it

Dumitru, meanwhile, has benefited from more than $20,000 in mailers paid for by the Republican Party of Orange County. The state-level Republican Party has also kicked in about $12,000 in pro-Dumitru mailers. Records show that it has only gotten involved in a handful of local elections recently – in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange.

Orange mayor candidate Jon Dumitru, left, and city council candidate Ray Grangoff work the phones at the Orange Republican Women's Headquarters on Tustin Avenue Thursday. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Councilwoman and Mayoral Candidate for the City of Orange Teresa "Tita" Smith in front of her home in Orange. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Councilwoman and Mayoral Candidate for the City of Orange Teresa "Tita" Smith in front of her home in Orange. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Campaign signs for two candidates for Mayor of the City of Orange, Teresa Smith and Jon Dumitru are mixed in with others on the fence around a gas station on the border of the city. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Orange mayor candidate Jon Dumitru, left, and city council candidate Ray Grangoff make phone calls to remind people to vote at the Orange Republican Women's Headquarters on Tustin Avenue Thursday. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Councilwoman and Mayoral Candidate for the City of Orange Teresa "Tita" Smith. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Three campaign signs for Mayoral candidate for the City of Orange, Jon Dumitru are crowded onto one light standard. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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